Monday, 29 April 2013

Lesson: How to hand stitch a nine patch quilt block

To start with work out your paper template for the size you
want to cut your fabric. You will need two pieces of cardboard. One piece is
the size you cut your fabric. The second is ( mine is ½ inch smaller) your seam allowance and the actual finished size of your squares once you stitch them.

Using a very sharp pencil trace around your first piece of
cardboard. Mark the corners clearly.

Using the second piece of cardboard trace around with your
pencil, mark the corners clearly. This is your seam allowance.

Cut your fabric, using the large square as your guide to
cutting out your squares.

Cut the amount of squares you want for your nine patch. I
used five of one color and four of another color. You could use a scrappy look
if you like and cut out nine different colors.

Using back stitch, stitch along your seam allowance. Only
stitch from corner to corner along one side.

When you turn the fabric over you should have a neat seam.

Stitch your blocks to make the following arrangement. If you
are using all different colors don’t worry about how you stitch your blocks.
Just stitch down one side.

Your finished block will look like this. Remember on the
outside you will still have an allowance to join your blocks. As shown in the
image make sure those corner points match. Easy! Now you have more to sew to
make up a nice bed quilt.

I'm not a quilter and this is my first attempt. Ideally you should have a 1/4 inch seam allowance but I am mathematically challenged and didn't want to mess around with 1/4. I think a 1/2 inch seam allowance will probably make a bulky seam I'll see how it goes and adjust. So keep it in mind traditionally you need a 1/4 inch. My finished block is 91/2 inches. I am hoping to finish this all by hand. I'll see how that goes. Good luck with yours!